Walt Disney and the 1964 World’s Fair” is a must-have for Mouse House music fans

Jim Hill

16 years ago

My apologies for taking so long to post a review of “Walt Disney and the 1964 World’s Fair” (Walt Disney Records, March 2009). But this
5-disc set isn’t something that you want to rush through. It’s the sort of recording that you really want to
savor.

There’s over three hours worth of material to wade through
here. Randy Thornton & Jeff Sheridan have not only pieced together full soundtracks
for each of Disney’s four shows at the Fair (i.e. it’s a small world,
Progressland, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and The Magic Skyway), they also
unearthed area music and early demo recordings for these World’s Fair attractions.
In the case of “Carousel of Progress,” they even discovered a fully scored
& scripted alternate universe version of this General Electric show.

I know, I know. A
bootleg version of these recordings has been bouncing around the Web for several
years now. Which is why some of you may feel reluctant to pay full price for “Walt
Disney and the 1964 World’s Fair.” But know this: only the official 5-disc set
features Stacia Martin’s history of the Fair.

This 24-page booklet is worth the price of this CD set all
by itself. Filled with all sorts of one-of-a-kind photographs …

… not to mention concept art that hasn’t been seen in
decades (Take – for example – this image of the nuclear fusion reactor that
used to be featured at the Progressland pavilion), Stacia’s stories make “Walt
Disney and the 1964 World’s Fair” a must-have for any serious Disney history buff.

I honestly can’t tell you how fun it was to page through this
booklet while listening to all that great music. Thanks to the many years that
she spent working at The Walt Disney Company, Ms. Martin knows just where to go
to find treasures like this preliminary costume design for it’s a small world …

… or a blueprint that shows the exact track layout for Ford’s
Magic Skyway ride.

Speaking of Stacia … Ms. Martin will be appearing this
coming Saturday at the Western Center for Archaelogy and Paleontology in Hemet,
CA. Where she will be presenting “Sounds Delightful!,” an illustrated audio
adventure which will walk her listening audience through more than five decades
of vintage Disney vinyl. So if you’re a West Coast-based fan of Mouse House music,
you should definitely try & attend Stacia’s show this coming Saturday at 3
p.m.

But if you just can’t make it to Hemet, CA this weekend,
picking up a copy of “Walt Disney and the 1964 World’s Fair” would be still a
great consolation prize. For this 5-disc set also features an amazing
collection of Disney musical rarities.